Acting
Keith David
EN, PT cinema · 255 credits
Born
4 June 1956 (age 70)
Birthplace
Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
Also known as Keith David Williams · キース・デイヴィッド · کیت دیوید · キース デヴィッド · キース・デヴィッド・ウィリアムズ · David Keith
Keith David Williams (born June 4, 1956) is an American actor. He is mostly known for his bass voice and screen presence in over 400 roles across film, stage, television, and interactive media. He has starred in such films as The Thing (1982), Platoon (1986), They Live (1988), Dead Presidents(1995), Armageddon (1998), There's Something About Mary (1998), Requiem for a Dream (2000), Pitch Black (2000), Barbershop (2002), Crash (2004), The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), Cloud Atlas (2012), The Nice Guys (2016), Nope (2022), and American Fiction (2023). He starred as Elroy Patashnik in the sixth season of the NBC series Community (2015) and as Bishop James Greenleaf in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama Greenleaf (2016–2020). His Emmy-winning voice acting career includes narrating Ken Burns films such as The War (2007) and Muhammad Ali (2021). In film, he has voiced Dr. Facilier in The Princess and the Frog (2009) and the Cat in Coraline (2009). On television, he portrayed Goliath in Gargoyles (1994–1997), Al Simmons / Spawn in Todd McFarlane's Spawn (1997–1999), The Flame King in Adventure Time (2012–2017), President Andre Curtis in Rick and Morty (2015–) and its upcoming spin-off President Curtis, King Andrias in Amphibia (2020–2022), Dr. Tenma in Pluto (2023), and Husk in Hazbin Hotel (2024–). Video game roles include the Arbiter Thel 'Vadamee in the Halo franchise (2004–2015), Julius Little and himself in the Saints Row series (2006–2017), Captain Anderson in the Mass Effect series (2007–2013), Chaos in Dissidia Final Fantasy (2008), Sergeant Foley in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009), and Commander Zavala in Destiny 2: The Final Shape (2024), which he assumed after the death of Lance Reddick in March 2023. He was part of the cast of The Nightmare Before Christmas live concert in October 2025, where he voiced Oogie Boogie, taking over the role from his longtime original voice actor, Ken Page, following his death in September 2024. In July 2025, David was selected to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2026. Description above from the Wikipedia article Keith David, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known for
Filmography
ATL 2: The Homecoming
as John Garnett
The Price for Freedom
The Price for Freedom
as Reverend J.W. Bruno
My New Friend Jim
My New Friend Jim
as Jim Dandy
Bob's Best Friends
as Cuddles (voice)
Coraline e o Mundo Secreto
as The Cat (voice)
Trailer Madness
as Narrator #6
Captain Zero: The Movie
as The Depression Demon (voice)
Spider-Man: Brand New Day
as Narrator of Spider Video (voice)
Sneaks
as O.G. (voice)
Shelby Oaks
as Morton Jacobson
Tim Travers and the Time Traveler's Paradox
as The Simulator
The Gettysburg Address
as Frederick Douglass (voice)
Finding Faith
as Henry
Portal to Hell
as Mr. Bobshank
Omniscient
as Alistair
Hazbin Hotel: Sing-Along
as Husk (voice)
Hazbin Hotel: Live on Broadway
as (voice) (uncredited)
What is an Ocean… Reconnecting the Cast and Crew of Cloud Atlas
as Self - Interviewee
Captain Zero: Into the Abyss Part II
as The Depression Demon (voice), Thanks
The Prank
as Principal Henderson
Betty & Blue
as Willie 'Blue' Watson
Mufasa: The Lion King
as Masego (voice)
Heist 88
as Buddha Ray
American Fiction
as Willy the Wonker
From the Shadows
as Dr. Leonard Bertram
A Snowy Day in Oakland
as Mr. Monroe
Unplugging
as Gil
Nope
as Otis Haywood Sr.
The Wonderful Spring of Mickey Mouse
as Narrator (voice)
DC League of Super-Pets
as Dog-El (voice)
Entergalactic
as Mr. Rager (voice)
Shut Up and Ride
as Narrator (voice)
In Search of Tomorrow
as Self - Interviewee
Catwoman: Hunted
as Tobias Whale / Morax (voice)
Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story
as Ink Williams
The Gateway
as Terry
Pups Alone
as The Wise Bartender
Black as Night
as Babineaux
The Seventh Day
as Father Louis
Insight
as Captain Duke
Horizon Line
as Freddy Wyman
The 420 Movie
as Chief Ironweed
Cuba's Cancer Hope
as Narrator (voice)
Good
as Gregory Devereaux
Wild Daze
as Narrator
The Wedding Year
as Preston
21 Bridges
as Deputy Chief Spencer
You Might Be the Killer
as Sheriff James
Rise of the Mammals
as Self - Narrator
Brothers in Arms
as Self
Ray Meets Helen
as Harve
Night School
as Gerald
Tales from the Hood 2
as Portifoy Simms
American Dresser
as Charlie
Sharon 1.2.3.
as Tyrone
Savage Dog
as Valentine
The '91 Falcons
2017
The '91 Falcons
as Narrator (voice)
V-Force: New Dawn of V.I.C.T.O.R.Y.
2017
V-Force: New Dawn of V.I.C.T.O.R.Y.
as Kevin Bishop
The Nice Guys
as Older Guy
Dirty Lies
as Doc
Range 15
as Colonel Holloway
Service to Man
as Dean Holmes
Nina
as Clifton's Father
The North Star
as Frederick Douglass
School of Rickey
as Self - Narrator (voice)
Blue: The American Dream
as Terry Venable
Union Furnace
as Pin Stripe
Boiling Pot
as Agent Long
Secrets of the Magic City
as Mr. Daniels
Field of Lost Shoes
as Old Judge
Kids vs Monsters
as Barry
If I Tell You I Have to Kill You
as Detective Harris
Dutch Book
as Joe Johnson
Creature Feature: 60 Years of the Gill-Man
as Narrator, Producer
H4
as Worcester
Assault on Wall Street
as Freddy
Don't Pass Me By
as David Knox
Sons of Liberty
as Nathan Reynolds
Frog Kingdom
as Frog King (voice)
Free Birds
as Chief Broadbeak (Voice)
Black Asylum
as Agent Davis
Highway
as Mustafa
Cloud Atlas
as Kupaka / Joe Napier / An-kor Apis / Prescient
Smiley
as Diamond
Christmas in Compton
as Big Earl
The Last Fall
as Sydney Bishop
AniMen: The Galactic Battle
as Sergeant Brass
Double or Nothing
2012
Double or Nothing
as Homeless Dude
The Undershepherd
as Brother Wilks
The Savoy King: Chick Webb & the Music That Changed America
as Charles Buchanan (voice)
The Inheritance
as Uncle Melvin, Executive Producer
Hopelessly in June
as Dalbert Myers
Samuel Bleak
as Ned Coffman
No Saints for Sinners
as Victor
Africa's Lost Eden
as Narrator (voice)
Death at a Funeral
as Reverend Davis
Lottery Ticket
as Sweet Tee
Something Like A Business
as Sebastian
Chain Letter
as Det. Jim Crenshaw
Meet Monica Velour
as Claude
Baseball: The Tenth Inning
as Narrator
Chasing 3000
as Officer L.
Spork
as Coach Jenkins
The Princess and the Frog
as Dr. Facilier (voice)
All About Steve
as Corbitt
Don McKay
as Otis Kent
Behind Enemy Lines III: Colombia
as Commander Scott Boytano
Coraline
as The Cat (voice)
Against the Dark
as Lt. Waters
Pastor Brown
as Pastor Brown
Blue
as Terry Venable
The Butcher
as Larry Cobb
Gamer
as Agent Keith
Beautiful Loser
as Morgan - Adult
Coraline: Creepy Coraline
as The Cat (voice) (archive footage)
Superhero Movie
as The Chief of Police
No Bad Days
as Terrence
The Sensei
as Minister
The Fifth Commandment
as Max 'Coolbreeze' Templeton
Justice League: The New Frontier
as The Centre (voice)
First Sunday
as Judge B. Bennet Galloway
S.I.S.
as Joseph Armstrong
My Mom's New Boyfriend
as FBI Chief Conrad
The Candlelight Murders
as Pastor Bob
The Last Sentinel
as Colonel Norton
Delta Farce
as Sgt. Kilgore
The Color Purple: The Color of Success
as Self - Narrator (voice)
Behind Enemy Lines II: Axis of Evil
as MCPO Scott Boytano
ATL
as John Garnett
The Oh in Ohio
as Coach Popovitch
Forbidden Fruits
as Rev. Walters
Crash
as Lt. Dixon
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
as Father
Dirty
as Captain Spain
Transporter 2
as Stappleton
The Proud Family Movie
as Bebe Clone (voice)
Crusades: Crescent & the Cross
as Self - Narrator
The Chronicles of Riddick
as Abu 'Imam' al-Walid
The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury
as Abu 'Imam' al-Walid (voice)
Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
as Narrator (voice)
Beef II
as Narrator (voice)
Last Stand of the Great Bear
as Narrator (voice)
Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London
as CIA Director
Creature Feature: 50 Years of the Gill-Man
as Narrator (voice), Producer
Agent Cody Banks
as CIA Director
Head of State
as Bernard Cooper
Nubia: The Forgotten Kingdom
as Narrator (voice)
Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked
as Narrator (voice)
Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip
as Narrator (voice)
Inside Mecca
as Narrator (voice)
Barbershop
as Lester Wallace
Stalking Leopards
as Narrator (voice)
Ultimate Fights from the Movies
as Frank (They Live) (archive footage)
29 Palms
as The Sheriff
Mark Twain
as Narrator (voice)
Novocaine
as Detective Lunt
Pretty When You Cry
as Detective Charles Desett
Home Invaders
as Matador
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
as Council Member (voice)
Semper Fi
as Gunnery Sgt. Brinkloff
Egypt's Golden Empire
as Narrator
Boxing: In and Out of the Ring
as Narrator (voice)
Pitch Black
as Abu 'Imam' al-Walid
Requiem for a Dream
as Big Tim
Where the Heart Is
as Moses Whitecotten
Innocents
as Detective Davis
The Replacements
as Lindell
The Grizzlies of Siberia
as Narrator (voice)
ATF
as FBI Director Richard Long
Armageddon
as General Kimsey
There's Something About Mary
as Charlie Jensen
The Tiger Woods Story
as Earl Woods
Volcano
as Lt. Ed Fox
Don King: Only in America
as Herbert Muhammad
Flipping
as Leo Richards, Gang Leader
Executive Target
as Lamar
Murder, She Wrote: South by Southwest
as Algric Bartles
Hercules
as Apollo the Sun God (voice)
Never Met Picasso
as Larry
Vanishing Point
as Warren Taft
Loose Women
as Stylist #1
Larger Than Life
as Hurst
Eye for an Eye
as Martin
The Grave
as The Priest
Johns
as Homeless John
Clockers
as André the Giant
Blue in the Face
as Jackie Robinson
Dead Presidents
as Kirby
The Quick and the Dead
as Sergeant Cantrell
Gargoyles the Movie: The Heroes Awaken
as Goliath (voice)
Beauty and the Beasts: A Leopard's Story
as Narrator (voice)
The Puppet Masters
as Alex Holland
Reality Bites
as Roger
Jewels of the Caribbean Sea
as Narrator (voice)
Notes in a Minor Key
as Kansas
The Last Outlaw
as Lovecraft
Bluesland: A Portrait in American Music
as Self - Host
There Are No Children Here
as John Paul Rivers
Hallelujah
1993
Hallelujah
as Big Willie
Lions Of Darkness
as Narrator (voice)
Final Analysis
as Detective Huggins
Article 99
as Luther Jermoe
Nails
as Noah Owens
Men at Work
as Louis Fedders
Always
as Powerhouse
Road House
as Ernie Bass
They Live
as Frank Armitage
Bird
as Buster Franklin
Braddock: Missing in Action III
as Embassy Gate Captain
Ladykillers
as Abe
Off Limits
as Maurice
Stars & Bars
as Eugene Teagarden
Christmas in Tattertown
as Saxophone (voice)
Hot Pursuit
as Alphonso
Platoon
as King
The Whoopee Boys
as Washington Square Peddler
The Thing
as Childs
The Pirates of Penzance
as Pirates and Police
Coriolanus
as Aedile / Roman Citizen / Volscian Citizen